70.148.010 - Definitions.

Definitions. (Expires June 1, 2013.)

Unless the context requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

     (1) "Accidental release" means any sudden or nonsudden release of petroleum arising from operating an underground storage tank that results in a need for corrective action, bodily injury, or property damage neither expected nor intended by the owner or operator.

     (2) "Director" means the Washington pollution liability insurance program director.

     (3) "Bodily injury" means bodily injury, sickness, or disease sustained by any person, including death at any time resulting from the injury, sickness, or disease.

     (4) "Corrective action" means those actions reasonably required to be undertaken by the insured to remove, treat, neutralize, contain, or clean up an accidental release in order to comply with any statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, directive, order, or similar legal requirement of the United States, the state of Washington, or any political subdivision of the United States or the state of Washington in effect at the time of an accidental release. "Corrective action" includes, when agreed to in writing, in advance by the insurer, action to remove, treat, neutralize, contain, or clean up an accidental release to avert, reduce, or eliminate the liability of the insured for corrective action, bodily injury, or property damage. "Corrective action" also includes actions reasonably necessary to monitor, assess, and evaluate an accidental release.

"Corrective action" does not include:

     (a) Replacement or repair of storage tanks or other receptacles;

     (b) Replacement or repair of piping, connections, and valves of storage tanks or other receptacles;

     (c) Excavation or backfilling done in conjunction with (a) or (b) of this subsection; or

     (d) Testing for a suspected accidental release if the results of the testing indicate that there has been no accidental release.

     (5) "Defense costs" include the costs of legal representation, expert fees, and related costs and expenses incurred in defending against claims or actions brought by or on behalf of:

     (a) The United States, the state of Washington, or any political subdivision of the United States or state of Washington to require corrective action or to recover costs of corrective action; or

     (b) A third party for bodily injury or property damage caused by an accidental release.

     (6) "Washington pollution liability insurance program" or "program" means the reinsurance program created by this chapter.

     (7) "Insured" means the owner or operator who is provided insurance coverage in accordance with this chapter.

     (8) "Insurer" means the insurance company or risk retention group licensed or qualified to do business in Washington and authorized by the director to provide insurance coverage in accordance with this chapter.

     (9) "Loss reserve" means the amount traditionally set aside by commercial liability insurers for costs and expenses related to claims that have been made. "Loss reserve" does not include losses that have been incurred but not reported to the insurer.

     (10) "Occurrence" means an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to conditions, that results in a release from an underground storage tank.

     (11) "Operator" means a person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of an underground storage tank.

     (12) "Owner" means a person who owns an underground storage tank.

     (13) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation (including government corporation), partnership, association, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, interstate body, the federal government, or any department or agency of the federal government.

     (14) "Petroleum" means crude oil or any fraction of crude oil that is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure, which means at sixty degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute and includes gasoline, kerosene, heating oils, and diesel fuels.

     (15) "Property damage" means:

     (a) Physical injury to, destruction of, or contamination of tangible property, including the loss of use of the property resulting from the injury, destruction, or contamination; or

     (b) Loss of use of tangible property that has not been physically injured, destroyed, or contaminated but has been evacuated, withdrawn from use, or rendered inaccessible because of an accidental release.

     (16) "Release" means the emission, discharge, disposal, dispersal, seepage, or escape of petroleum from an underground storage tank into or upon land, groundwater, surface water, subsurface soils, or the atmosphere.

     (17) "Surplus reserve" means the amount traditionally set aside by commercial property and casualty insurance companies to provide financial protection from unexpected losses and to serve, in part, as a measure of an insurance company's net worth.

     (18) "Tank" means a stationary device, designed to contain an accumulation of petroleum, that is constructed primarily of nonearthen materials such as wood, concrete, steel, or plastic that provides structural support.

     (19) "Underground storage tank" means any one or a combination of tanks including underground pipes connected to the tank, that is used to contain an accumulation of petroleum and the volume of which (including the volume of the underground pipes connected to the tank) is ten percent or more beneath the surface of the ground.

[1990 c 64 § 2; 1989 c 383 § 2.]